BBC tagged posts

May 29, 2020,  News  No comments

When I was working in BBC News & Current Affairs in the late 80s/early 90s, the internet was in its infancy and there wasn’t Facebook or YouTube or Twitter.

Also, we had the BBC Guidelines, under DG John Birt, that provided guidance on balance, impartiality and how certain news items were to be reported, particularly during election times, etc.  These days, with 24-hour rolling news and the fragmentation of media and audiences, it’s that much harder to be heard, so journalists use social media as another channel to engage with the audience.

It will be interesting to see what former-BBC boss Richard Sambrook advises in how the BBC continues to steer a path of neutrality in wh...

November 17, 2014,  Brand marketing, Consumer behaviour, Social marketing practice  No comments

My guess is you’ve never heard of PewDiePie, have you?

But what if I told you this Swedish vlogger who loves sharing the latest video games and slightly bonkers videos on YouTube is also the biggest star on YouTube himself with 32,222,075 subscribers and a whopping 6,753,075,673 views.

And he launched his channel in April 2010.

Closer to home, my daughter Zara loves this YouTube vlogger.

And by all accounts so do very many other teenager girls who follow her latest musings – if fact over 6.5m subscribers do.

The elf-like and sublimely charming 24 year-old fashion and beauty vlogger Zoella (real name Zoe Elizabeth Sugg) speaks for a new generation of TV viewers...

June 20, 2014,  Essential Law for Marketers, Guru in a Bottle, Public Relations practice  One comment

It was Winston Churchill, one of the greatest statesmen that ever lived, who said “In war: resolution. In defeat: defiance. In victory: magnanimity. In peace: goodwill.”

Given the acrimonious legal battles that the PRCA has been having with the NLA and the subsequent decision at the Court of Justice of the European Union, I think it’s time for both sides to do well in remembering those words.

Let’s face it.

Both sides must build a new bridge – a better, more robust bridge – where the focus is on collaboration rather than conflict...

July 20, 2013,  Guru in a Bottle  One comment

Adventurer Bear Grylls is Chief Scout in the UK

The Scout Association one of the UK’s leading youth organisations, has been ranked as one of the most highly trusted institutions in the UK and second only to the Armed Forces. The Scouts overtook the NHS that had previously occupied the second slot but now drops to third place as a result of the surge in hospital scandals over the previous 12 months.

The recent poll of 1000 respondents, conducted by nfpSynergy, shows that 66% of people now trust charities ‘quite a lot’ or ‘a great deal’ which is an increase of 2% on last year’s results and the highest figure for the sector since 2010.

Half of respondents in the surv...

July 4, 2013,  Guru in a Bottle  No comments

In my 20-year plus career within journalism, public relations, marketing and social media I’ve been very fortunate to have worked with some of the most successful global organisations in the world including Andersen Consulting (Accenture), Disney,  BBC,  The Scout Association, Shell, Ferrari, the International Cricket Council and the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom.

Very often it’s been my job to train chief executives on how best to put across their messages to audiences ranging from several hundred employees and millions of TV viewers.

Whilst all of these communication skills are very important – what we aren’t taught either at school or indeed when we work wit...